Back Yard Trip is Interesting

By: EDWIN B. PETERSEN

HELLO FOLKS!  We took a day off recently and went for a drive around the country.  Went through Austin, Grand Meadow, Preston and Decorah.

We stopped at one of the caves over that way and got into Decorah at noon.  Decorah has two museums, both operated by the college; one on the campus, the other in a large building down town.  The main one is called the Norwegian – American Historical museum.  The title, of course, suggests what you might expect to find there.

We had a delightful time at Decorah.  A person can easily spend a day there just seeing the sights.  Having taken out picnic lunch along, including some raw hamburger, we inquired about picnic grounds.  We were directed to Phelps park.  It is situated on a hill (and I do mean a hill) overlooking the valley below.

We saw neither fly nor mosquito there.  There are kitchens with gas stoves available, plenty of tables and swings, slices and trapeze.

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THE NEXT STOP was at the Little Brown Church near Nashua.  We got there just as a wedding was about to be held.  I noticed a justice of the peace had his shingle out by the road.  It was too big to hang so he had it staked.  It was interesting to see the church that inspired the song “Little Brown Church in the Vale”.  It was well taken care of and in good state of preservation.  The ole kerosene lamps with the reflectors behind them are still there on the walls.  The ones in the ceiling have been converted to electricity.

We had purchased a water melon along the way but for obvious reasons we didn’t eat it until we were started home.  Even so, we had to make one unscheduled stop.  Got home in time to get the milking done before dark.  One cow had gotten tired of waiting for us and gone down into the pasture.  She sure had a lot of milk the next morning.

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THE CHILDREN had a grand time there.  We liked it so well we would like to have stayed, but we had planned for only a day and wanted to see other places before returning home.

The next stop was at Spillville, Iowa.  There we saw the Billy brothers clocks.  Words cannot describe the amazing array of clocks in the museum there.

The Billy brothers are farmers by trade.  They spent the summers farming, and the winters making clocks.  They are now in their 70’s.  They have deeded their museum to the town of Spillville, and it is always to remain there.

It is amazing the amount of intricate work that has been done by these two men.

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WE REALLY enjoyed the trip.  It was a cool day and a fair breeze.  A suggestion to you folks who travel with small children:  We have some old sofa pillows.  They are stuffed with cotton and therefore quite firm.  We take them along.  They are good to sit on so the little ones can see out better.  If they get tired, they can put them in the bottom of the car and curl up for a nap.  That way they don’t fuss for the seat.

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THERE ARE a lot of interesting sights to be seen, such as the ones we took in that day.  For those of you won’t get away on a vacation, why not plan to see a number of these things across your one back fence.  You’ll be glad you did.

Why is it Bad to Leave Farm?

By EDWIN B. PETERSEN

HELLO FOLKS!  With politics in full swing the politicians of every color, class and company are at it trying to convince the voters that they are the one for the job.

Along with the oratory is a lot of demagoguery designed to confuse and bewilder the voters and win for the candidate his desires.

Farm politics are in for their share of the ‘mud’ with one side slinging most of it and the other side failing to give satisfactory rebuttal to enlighten the public as to the real facts.  So the voters go their way not knowing what is the real crux of the problem.

The Democrats say that so and so many farmers are leaving the farm each year under the Republican regime.  The Republicans say on the other hand that more farmers left the farm under the Democratic rule.

The inference is given on both sides that there is something wrong with farmers taking city jobs; but this has actually been going on for a hundred years and there is no sign of it slowing up.

The fact is that farm productivity is going up at the rage of six percent per year and that is faster than industry in general by half:  and it is faster than our ability to consume the extra production ourselves.

The only hope of maintaining that rate of production and consuming it is to sell it abroad.  In that respect we are trying out best.  We have Public Law 480 which is doing a tremendous job of selling and even giving away, but if we ship more across than we now do we will incur the wrath of foreign governments because they feel that we are upsetting their economy by too much giving away, which is true.

We can only sell or otherwise dispose of food as fast as their economy grows or that we can induce to buy through food fairs and such.

Therefore the only answer for the less efficient farmer or the farmer who feels that he can make a better living up town (of which many are out best farmers) is for him to quite farming and become a consumer of farm products instead of a producer.  That, therefore balances our supply and demand rule, and the farmer freed from producing food, can be put to work producing the consumer goods which our standard of living demands.

The whole thing is a process of greater efficiency which means cheaper food.  With cheaper food more money is left for purchasing the other things we demand.  Would even the politician who does so much hollering want it any different?  Not by a long shot.  He just wants to be heard and isn’t particular what he is saying.

The facts are that the less farmers it takes feed a given number of people and the less the costs, the higher is the standard of living of that people.

Take any country and the standard of living can be judged pretty will by the efficiency of ti’s farmers, and with all other conditions being equal the fewer the farm-…

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Back Patting For Pushers

By EDWIN B. PETERSEN

HELLOW FOLKS!

Have you noticed how some people seem to think that the best way to push themselves ahead is to pat themselves on the back?

Out Ann has another boy friend: he is the fellow that plays the organ in Lawrence Welk's Orchestra. She mentions it everytime she sees him on T. V.

Speaking of Welk — did you ever see such an array of stars performers as he has? Each one if them is a master in his or her own right. That quality combined into Welk's champagne style makes for a most enjoyable show. I especially like the way he takes the old style tunes and dressed them up: then takes the more modern ones and planes them down to make an ideal blend of music.

Welk appeals to me like the kind of fellow I might have gone to country school with or worked with in the hay fields of Dakota. While I have never met him personally I guess him to be the kind of fellow that is solid gold inside. The kind you would want to trust and do your very best for.

The dentist's daughter asked her boy friend, "Have you told father that we want to get married?" The boy was shy. "Gee, Sussie, every time I get into his office I get so nervous I can't talk. Today he took out another tooth."

Then there was the gangling farm hand who approached the window and announced that he wanted a mariage license. "Certainly," replied the clerk. "Where;s the bride - elect?"

"What do you mean bride-elect?" drawled he husband-to-be. "There wasn't any election. She nominated herself."

In speaking to a group of farmers Under Secretary of Agriculture True D. Morse had this to say.

"Our country continues to be engaged in a historic struggle between centralized power and individual freedom.

"Agriculture is in the middle of the battle. Will agriculture be directed and supported by government, or will it be managed by free individuals with a minimum of controls and directives? If the forces of freedom lose this battle in agriculture it will be lost also for business," he warned.

Morse said, "There is no substitute for sound and agressive leadership. "In no segment of the economy are the wheels of progress turning faster than in agriculture. New ideas and developments crowd upon us.

"Farmers have become a minority — less than 14 per cent of the population — yet agriculture is a major labor factor in the employment of labor and in our industrial activity."

Mr. Morse predicted that the "big demand in American agriculture for the future will be the demand for brain-power." He said, "Agriculture needs 15,000 new trained people each year, but will get only about 8,500 degrees in agriculture sciences.

"Problems unlimited mean opportunities unlimited. There will be growing responsibilities for agricultural leadership. There will be growing need for men trained in agriculture to rovide local, national and international leadership."